Can NekNomination become something good?

NekNomination

• Neknomination is an online drinking game. The concept is simple but not without risks. The original parameters of the game require the participant to film themselves drinking a pint of an alcoholic beverage in one gulp and upload the footage to the web. The participant then nominates three others of his friends to do the same. The nominated person has to complete the task within 24 hours. The objective is to maximize the sharing of the video on Facebook or Twitter. And originality bonus! For example: drinking on the surfboard, in an aquarium, disguised as Batman or as drag queen, in the shower and even driving the car.• The game became popular in early 2014, thanks to social media like Twitter or Facebook for proof the hashtag #neknomination was used more than five million times in 3 months on social networks. Some education’s professionals lead it to cyberbullying because the people who do not take part are shamed. There’s a huge amount of peer pressure involved that’s certainly been a factor as to why it has escalated.• This game was launched in Australia and today toured the world. These are mainly young people who play it but not only…• However, this fad is already responsible for at least five dead. It is time to stop it, the problem is in spite of that some pages were removed, warning messages published on the Internet, or testimonies from parents devastated by the loss of their loved ones due to this game, as Patrick Byrne’s plea on facebook, he is an Irish men who lost his little brother after he was neknominated on Facebook or as moving farewell message of Niamh Murphy who lost her boy friend an Irish DJ of 22 years-old after he reportedly playing “nekNomination” , nothing works, this game is still the game of fashion.

Hope was born with Brent Lindeque, a South African who was neknominated by a friend but decided to turn this game into something more intelligent. Brent filmed himself distributing food to a homeless person, at the end of his video he nominates three of his friends to do the same, he later explained in an interview: “In south Africa, we-have poverty problems and hunger problems, that ’was my first thought of being. My second was I wanted to be more responsible with what I’m posting online ". A week and a half ago it has-been viewed more than half a million times. His idea has functioned so well that thousands of other people are put in. In France, at Bordeaux a young boy of 23 years-old, Julien Voinson, was filmed buying hamburgers and some water for distribute them to the homeless. His video was shared a thousand times also and caused positive reactions around the world. This new phenomenon is named # smartnomination. Now, let’s hope that people will forget the neknomination and only practice the smartnomination. We already note a decreased of neknomination in popularity, it must go on!

+ For my personal experience, I knew this game thanks to my English friends. We met each other through the Comenius project of school. They come from St. Joseph High School in London. After they came to visit our school in october, we remain in good contact all together. In November, during our trip to London I got to know some of their other friends. They are really nice. And as of today we are still good friends, we help each other for our language’s homework. All this to say that one day I’m falling on a video of one of my friends. He filmed him-self handing food to the homeless in his neighborhood. When I congratulated him for his action, he explained to me what the smartnomination is and that was a smart version of neknomination. He also taught me that many of his friends attended the smartnomination, I was really impressed because none of my French friends participated unlike to neknomination. He asked me if I had ever been nominated for one of his games, but this is not the case, he told me that it was a good thing for neknomination, but I could take my own initiatives and participate in smartnomination. I love his way of thinking, he told me that now people have to understand that they can help others without having to participate in a game.

◊ Other initiatives also take place and become viral, like giving a big tip to a waiter/waitress. Before dying, Aaron Collins, asked his family to leave “an awesome tip” to a waiter and “not a 25% tip, but $500 on a pizza for a waiter or waitress”, he specified. Today all his family, his brother in particularly, Seth honors his last wish. Last year, Seth Collins set out to give $500 tips to waiters and waitresses in all 50 states. So far, he’s given out 54 tips. He hopes to reach 100. This movement is filmed and put online. It receives a lot of view and messages of sympathy. He created a Facebook page “Aaron’s Last Wish” which permits to him to raise money to continue his duty to his brother. Each surprising tip has also helped the Collins family cope with their loss.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/03/seth-collins-500-tips-in-each-state_n_3541891.html

 All these initiatives are at the origin of a single person and through social networks are much more extents, even global. Some have much more merit than others, just as some are more interesting. These initiatives are called viral, due to their fast distribution and of the interest which arouse in world.